Gone - Old Version
by page-394-always1
Summary: Being rewritten. This is the old version.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore, I do not own anything Harry Potter.**

_A/N: Revising chapters, added the duel from chapter "__Prior Incantatem" in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The stars that look like this * stands for the beginning and ending of quote._

*Wormtail approached Harry, who scrambled to find his feet, to support his own weight before the ropes were untied. Wormtail raised his new silver hand, pulled out the wad of material gagging Harry, and then, with one swipe, cut through the bonds tying Harry to the gravestone.

There was a split second, perhaps, when Harry might have considered running for it, but his injured leg shook under him as he stood on the overgrown grave, as the Death Eaters closed ranks, forming a tighter circle around him and Voldemort, so that the gaps where the missing Death Eaters should have stood were filled.

Wormtail walked out of the circle to the place where Cedric's body lay and returned with Harry's wand, which he thrust roughly into Harry's hand without looking at him. Then Wormtail resumed his place in the circle of watching Death Eaters.

"You have been taught how to duel Harry Potter?" said Voldemort softly, his red eyes glinting through the darkness.

At these words Harry remembered, as though from a former life, the dueling club at Hogwarts he had attended briefly two years ago… All he had learned there was the Disarming Spell, "Expelliarmus"…

and what use would it be to deprive Voldemort of his wand, even if he could, when he was surrounded by Death Eaters, outnumbered by at least thirty to one? He had never learned anything that could possibly fit him for this. He knew he was facing the thing against which Moody had always warned… the unblockable Avada Kedavra curse – and Voldemort was right - his mother was not here to die for him this time… He was quite unprotected…

"We bow to each other. Harry," said Voldemort, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. "Come, the niceties must be observed… Dumbledore would like you to show manners… Bow to death, Harry…"

The Death Eaters were laughing again. Voldemorts lipless mouth was smiling. Harry did not bow. He was not going to let Voldemort play with him before killing him… he was not going to give him that satisfaction…

"I said, bow," Voldemort said, raising his wand - and Harry felt his spine curve as though a huge, invisible hand were bending him ruthlessly forward, and the Death Eaters laughed harder than ever.

"Very good," said Voldemort softly, and as he raised his wand the pressure bearing down upon Harry lifted too. "And now you face me, like a man… straight-backed and proud, the way your father died…

"And now - we duel."

Voldemort raised his wand, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself, before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was… White-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin, his head was surely going to burst with pain, he was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life –

And then it stopped. Harry rolled over and scrambled to his feet; he was shaking as uncontrollably as Wormtail had done when his hand had been cut off; he staggered sideways into the wall of watching Death Eaters, and they pushed him away, back toward Voldemort.

"A little break," said Voldemort, the slit-like nostrils dilating with excitement, "a little pause… That hurt, didn't it Harry? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

Harry didn't answer. He was going to die like Cedric, those pitiless red eyes were telling him so… he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it… but he wasn't going to play along. He wasn't going to obey Voldemort… he wasn't going to beg…

"I asked you whether you want me to do that again," said Voldemort softly.

"Answer me! Imperio"

And Harry felt, for the third time in his life, the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought… Ah, it was bliss, not to think, it was as though he were floating, dreaming… just answer no… say no… just answer no…

I will not, said a stronger voice, in the back of his head, I won't answer… Just answer no…

I won't do it, I won't say it…

Just answer no…

"I WON'T!"

And these words burst from Harry's mouth; they echoed through the graveyard, and the dream state was lifted as suddenly as though cold water had been thrown over him - back rushed the aches that the Cruciatus Curse had left all over his body - back rushed the realization of where he was, and what he was facing…

"You won't?" said Voldemort quietly, and the Death Eaters were not laughing now.

"You won't say no? Harry, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die… Perhaps another little dose of pain?"

Voldemort raised his wand, but this time Harry was ready; with the reflexes born of his Quidditch training, he flung himself sideways onto the ground; he rolled behind the marble headstone of Voldemort s father, and he heard it crack as the curse missed him.

"We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," said Voldemort's soft, cold voice, drawing nearer, as the Death Eaters laughed. "You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry… come out and play, then… it will be quick… it might even be painless… I would not know… I have never died…"

Harry crouched behind the headstone and knew the end had come. There was no hope… no help to be had. And as he heard Voldemort draw nearer still, he knew one thing only, and it was beyond fear or reason: He was not going to die crouching here like a child playing hide-and-seek; he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort s feet… he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself, even if no defense was possible…

Before Voldemort could stick his snakelike face around the headstone. Harry stood up… he gripped his wand tightly in his hand, thrust it out in front of him, and threw himself around the headstone, facing Voldemort.

Voldemort was ready. As Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light issued from Voldemorts wand just as a jet of red light blasted from Harry's - they met in midair - and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating as though an electric charge were surging through it; his hand seized up around it; he couldn't have released it if he'd wanted to - and a narrow beam of light connected the two wands, neither red nor green, but bright, deep gold.

Harry, following the beam with his astonished gaze, saw that Voldemort's long white fingers too were gripping a wand that was shaking and vibrating.

And then - nothing could have prepared Harry for this - he felt his feet lift from the ground. He and Voldemort were both being raised into the air, their wands still connected by that thread of shimmering golden light. They glided away from the tombstone of Voldemort's father and then came to rest on a patch of ground that was clear and free of graves… The Death Eaters were shouting; they were asking Voldemort for instructions; they were closing in, reforming the circle around Harry and Voldemort, the snake slithering at their heels, some of them drawing their wands –

The golden thread connecting Harry and Voldemort splintered; though the wands remained connected, a thousand more beams arced high over Harry and Voldemort, crisscrossing all around them, until they were enclosed in a golden, dome-shaped web, a cage of light, beyond which the Death Eaters circled like jackals, their cries strangely muffled now…

"Do nothing!" Voldemort shrieked to the Death Eaters, and Harry saw his red eyes wide with astonishment at what was happening, saw him fighting to break the thread of light still connecting his wand with Harry's; Harry held onto his wand more tightly, with both hands, and the golden thread remained unbroken. "Do nothing unless I command you!" Voldemort shouted to the Death Eaters.

And then an unearthly and beautiful sound filled the air… It was coming from every thread of the light-spun web vibrating around Harry and Voldemort. It was a sound Harry recognized, though he had heard it only once before in his life: phoenix song. It was the sound of hope to Harry… the most beautiful and welcome thing he had ever heard in his life… He felt as though the song were inside him instead of just around him… It was the sound he connected with Dumbledore, and it was almost as though a friend were speaking in his ear…

_Don't break the connection._

_I know._Harry told the music,

_I know I mustn't_… but no sooner had he thought it, than the thing became much harder to do. His wand began to vibrate more powerfully than ever… and now the beam between him and Voldemort changed too… it was as though large beads of light were sliding up and down the thread connecting the wands - Harry felt his wand give a shudder under his hand as the light beads began to slide slowly and steadily his way… The direction of the beams movement was now toward him, from Voldemort, and he felt his wand shudder angrily…

As the closest bead of light moved nearer to Harrys wand tip, the wood beneath his fingers grew so hot he feared it would burst into flame. The closer that bead moved, the harder Harry's wand vibrated; he was sure his wand would not survive contact with it; it felt as though it was about to shatter under his fingers –

He concentrated every last particle of his mind upon forcing the bead back toward Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes furious, fixed… and slowly, very slowly, the beads quivered to a halt, and then, just as slowly, they began to move the other way… and it was Voldemort's wand that was vibrating extra-hard now… Voldemort who looked astonished, and almost fearful…

One of the beads of light was quivering, inches from the tip of Voldemorts wand. Harry didn't understand why he was doing it, didn't know what it might achieve… but he now concentrated as he had never done in his life on forcing that bead of light right back into Voldemort s wand… and slowly… very slowly… it moved along the golden thread… it trembled for a moment… and then it connected…

At once, Voldemorts wand began to emit echoing screams of pain… then - Voldemort's red eyes widened with shock - a dense, smoky hand flew out of the tip of it and vanished… the ghost of the hand he had made Wormtail… more shouts of pain… and then something much larger began to blossom from Voldemorts wand tip, a great, grayish something, that looked as though it were made of the solidest, densest smoke… It was a head…

now a chest and arms… the torso of Cedric Diggory.

If ever Harry might have released his wand from shock, it would have been then, but instinct kept him clutching his wand tightly, so that the thread of golden light remained unbroken, even though the thick gray ghost of Cedric Diggory (was it a ghost? it looked so solid) emerged in its entirety from the end of Voldemort s wand, as though it were squeezing itself out of a very narrow tunnel… and this shade of Cedric stood up, and looked up and down the golden thread of light, and spoke.

"Hold on. Harry," it said.

Its voice was distant and echoing. Harry looked at Voldemort… his wide red eyes were still shocked…

he had no more expected this than Harry had… and, very dimly Harry heard the frightened yells of the Death Eaters, prowling around the edges of the golden dome… More screams of pain from the wand… and then something else emerged from its tip… the dense shadow of a second head, quickly followed by arms and torso… an old man Harry had seen only in a dream was now pushing himself out of the end of the wand just as Cedric had done… and his ghost, or his shadow, or whatever it was, fell next to Cedric's, and surveyed Harry and Voldemort, and the golden web, and the connected wands, with mild surprise, leaning on his walking stick…

"He was a real wizard, then?" the old man said, his eyes on Voldemort. "Killed me, that one did… You fight him, boy…"

But already, yet another head was emerging… and this head, gray as a smoky statue, was a woman's… Harry, both arms shaking now as he fought to keep his wand still, saw her drop to the ground and straighten up like the others, staring…

The shadow of Bertha Jorkins surveyed the battle before her with wide eyes.

"Don't let go, now!" she cried, and her voice echoed like Cedrics as though from very far away. "Don't let him get you, Harry - don't let go!"

She and the other two shadowy figures began to pace around the inner walls of the golden web, while the Death Eaters flitted around the outside of it… and Voldemort's dead victims whispered as they circled the duelers, whispered words of encouragement to Harry, and hissed words Harry couldn't hear to Voldemort. And now another head was emerging from the tip of Voldemorts wand… and Harry knew when he saw it who it would be… he knew, as though he had expected it from the moment when Cedric had appeared from the wand… knew, because the man appearing was the one he'd thought of more than any other tonight…

The smoky shadow of a tall man with untidy hair fell to the ground as Bertha had done, straightened up, and looked at him… and Harry, his arms shaking madly now, looked back into the ghostly face of his father. "Your mother's coming…" he said quietly. "She wants to see you… it will be all right… hold on…" And she came… first her head, then her body… a young woman with long hair, the smoky, shadowy form of Lily Potter blossomed from the end of Voldemort's wand, fell to the ground, and straightened like her husband. She walked close to Harry, looking down at him, and she spoke in the same distant, echoing voice as the others, but quietly, so that Voldemort, his face now livid with fear as his victims prowled around him, could not hear…

"When the connection is broken, we will linger for only moments… but we will give you time… you must get to the Portkey, it will return you to Hogwarts… do you understand, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry gasped, fighting now to keep a hold on his wand, which was slipping and sliding beneath his fingers.

"Harry…" whispered the figure of Cedric, "take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents…"

"I will," said Harry, his face screwed up with the effort of holding the wand.

"Do it now," whispered his father's voice, "be ready to run… do it now…"

"NOW!" Harry yelled; he didn't think he could have held on for another moment anyway - he pulled his wand upward with an almighty wrench, and the golden thread broke; the cage of light vanished, the phoenix song died - but the shadowy figures of Voldemort's victims did not disappear - they were closing in upon Voldemort, shielding Harry from his gaze -

And Harry ran as he had never run in his life, knocking two stunned Death Eaters aside as he passed; he zigzagged behind headstones, feeling their curses following him, hearing them hit the headstones - he was dodging curses and graves, pelting toward Cedric's body, no longer aware of the pain in his leg, his whole being concentrated on what he had to do -

"Stun him!" he heard Voldemort scream.

Ten feet from Cedric, Harry dived behind a marble angel to avoid the jets of red light and saw the tip of its wing shatter as the spells hit it. Gripping his wand more tightly, he dashed out from behind the angel –

"Impedimenta!" he bellowed, pointing his wand wildly over his shoulder at the Death Eaters running at him.

From a muffled yell, he thought he had stopped at least one of them, but there was no time to stop and look; he jumped over the cup and dived as he heard more wand blasts behind him; more jets of light flew over his head as he fell, stretching out his hand to grab Cedric's arm…

"Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!" shrieked Voldemort. Harry's hand had closed on Cedric's wrist; one tombstone stood between him and Voldemort, but Cedric was too heavy to carry, and the cup was out of reach –*

"Ac-" before Harry could get full summoning spell out of his mouth, a masked death eater gripped his forearm and a feeling of falling came upon Harry. There was no ground underneath him! He was falling!

And then his knees crashed into hard pavement, making his legs fully collapse and making him land face first on the ground. Groaning, he rolled over. Only in time to see a wand raised at him and a bright light consume him.

* * *

><p>The cheers had stopped, the music now a dull rhythm as the students of Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts stood restless - watching the maze. The professors were in a group, talking, perhaps just as worried as the students were. If not more.<p>

The first champion to come back was Fleur. Her hair was a mess and she had a wild look in her eyes as Madam Pomfrey got her back to normal self. Viktor Krum, surprisingly was the second. When he showed up, the professors immediately formed their circle. Hermione Granger commented quietly to Ron that Krum was showing symptoms of one if not two of the Unforgivables.

Hermione and Ron hadn't spoken since. They were both dreading what was happening to their best friend in the maze.

Suddenly, as if summoned, a few wizards in green robes came sweeping into the grounds to the minister of magic and the headmasters of the three schools. The students held their breaths as they watched their headmasters converse with the aurors.

Dread started to fill Hermione Granger as she took in the faces of the headmasters, aurors, and minister of magic. Shortly after the aurors arrival, Dumbledore broke away from the small group and looked at the crowd of students and families with a solemn face.

What he said next would always stick Hermione's mind.

The Tri-Wizard Tournament was over. Cedric Diggory was found dead in a cemetery in Little Hangleton. Harry Potter was missing. And Voldemort, no doubt, was back.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Quick note, I've wanted to do this for a long time now. I know this is not the longest and not the best, it's my first fanfic so I'm just getting a hang of this. I'll be posting more soon! I was looking for a story like this forever and couldn't find one__.__spellmugwump97 got me to do this so, I hope you like. Btw, this was inspired by the fic Behind Blue Eyes by Paffy. Thank you for reading. :)_


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore I do not own Harry Potter. I just like to play around with the characters._

_This fan fiction was inspired by Paffy's Behind Blue Eyes_

_**A/N: Ugh, sorry, the pagebreaks I'm making aren't showing up. Sorry if it confuses you!**_

Chapter One:

_July 10-13th, 1996_

_ Clip, clap, clip, clap. _

A middle aged woman walked down the halls of Mercy Hospital, her heels clapping on the tiled floor. Her hair held a tight bun, she wore a business suit. A kind smile displayed on her face as she walked next to an elderly stout woman.

"He is a very kind young man, Mrs. Piper. He is always helping the staff out, watching the younger children, among other things. You will love him." the business woman, Jenny Arnolds, said to the elderly woman. The elderly woman gave a kind smile as she followed the other woman into a residential wing of the hospital.

"The doctors are not sure, but they suppose, judging by his bone structure that he is in his mid teens. Perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old. Maybe older." Jenny continued as she looked at the numbers of the doors. "Ah, here it is." the pair of women stopped in front of a door marked 35D.

Inside, the elderly woman, Mrs. Piper, saw a young man, with thick black hair stand play a game of cards with a younger boy. Mrs. Piper smiled as she watched the two boys laugh and joke together.

"Johnny!" Jenny exclaimed fondly, smiling as she walked over to the two boys.

"Jenny!" 'Johnny' mimicked the woman, his bright green eyes wide behind his rectangular glasses as he exaggerated. The young teen smiled as Jenny gave a slight roll of her eyes.

"Johnny this is Mrs. Piper. Mrs. Piper this is Johnny." Mrs. Piper gave Johnny a kind smile as he gave her an uncertain one, he hadn't realized Jenny had brought someone with her. "She will be your foster mother once you leave the hospital tomorrow."

"Oh." the younger boy said, glancing at the faces of everyone in the room. "I'll - I'll just leave then…" he hurried out of the room to get out of the way.

No one said anything. Jenny coughed to break the silence, Johnny looked away from Mrs. Piper to Jenny. "Well, I believe I'll leave for you two to get acquainted." she left without further ado.

For quite some time, Mrs. Piper and Johnny only stared at each other. Not saying a word or making an facial expression. It was as if they were both calculating each other.

"Hello." Johnny said finally. Mrs. Piper gave him a grin.

"Hello."

Johnny looked at her with uncertainty, as if he was about to say something, instead he just patted the chair that sat next to his hospital bed. Mrs. Piper sat down gratefully.

"Do you enjoy it here?" Johnny nodded. "Have you any friends?" Johnny shrugged.

"A few."

"What are their names?"

"Robby and Jake." Johnny paused, he wasn't sure what to say. This whole experience was uncomfortable - for him at least. "Robby was just in here."

"Ah." Mrs. Piper said, picturing the young boy who had rushed out of that room in her head. Johnny nodded, not knowing how to respond.

"I have a few grandsons, around your age. They live a few blocks away from us."

"Us?"

"You and I. It'll just be the two of us in the house."

"Oh…"

Mrs. Piper, noticing his confusion, said, "Mr. Piper passed away some years ago. The house has gotten a bit lonely, I figure its about time to get the house up and alive again." Johnny looked at her with surprise.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mrs. Piper."

"Oh, don't be child. You needn't worry your mind on things that have long passed." she patted her hand on Johnny's in a grandmotherly way. "Now, tell me about your life here."

* * *

><p>Jenny came back hours later, to find that Mrs. Piper and Johnny had yet to leave the room she left them in. Surprisingly, happily so, Jenny found that they were talking animatedly about several things - both enjoying themselves.<p>

"Knock, knock." Jenny said as she walked into the room. They both looked at her with grins.

"Oh, I suppose its time for me to leave isn't?" the elderly woman said, sighing as she stood up.

"I'm afraid so, Mrs. Piper. Visiting hours are over." The elderly woman bobbed her head in understanding, yet Johnny frowned in disappointment.

"I shall see you tomorrow, child." Mrs. Piper told Johnny gently and patted Johnny's cheek, he gave her a grin.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask Johnny a few quick questions before we leave… in private."

"Alrighty, dear." Mrs. Piper gave Johnny one last wave of goodbye before leaving the room. Once they were alone, Jenny looked at the teen.

"Did you like her?"

"She's nice."

"Do you feel that you could live with her? If you don't want to that's okay." Jenny continued.

"I'll live with her." Johnny's social worker's face positively beamed.

"That's great, Johnny! She's going to fill out some papers tonight and she'll come by tomorrow to pick you up - now you need to get a good rest in! Okay?" Johnny laughed at Jenny's happiness and nodded. "Oh, I'm so happy for you - I'll be checking up on you about once every two weeks, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me okay? You know my number. Oh, Johnny, this will be great. You are going to love Mrs. Piper."

"Goodnight, Jenny." Johnny said with a chuckle. Jenny smiled and said goodnight back at him.

In the hall, Jenny found Mrs. Piper waiting for her.

"Thank you for waiting, Mrs. Piper. If you'll come with me to the nurses' station, there will be some things for you to sign and such."

"Lead the way." Mrs. Piper said, Jenny nodded and started down the hall. They soon came upon the center of the floor where the nurses sat. A blond male nurse noticed them and stood up.

"Hello! Are you the lady who's taking in Johnny?" at the women's nods, the nurse continued. "Great. As you both know, Johnny is a John Doe. He has no memory before waking up in this hospital. There is a possibility that he'll recover his memory, but since its been so long since the incident, its doubtful.

"Now, another thing. Johnny takes several pills a day right now. By next week he should be down to two pills and he'll have to continue those pills for, most likely, his whole life."

"What are the pills for?" Mrs. Piper asked when the male nurse paused for a breath.

"Glad you asked. The pills are for the nerve damage that was done before anyone found him. Its mostly likely from falling at an incredible speed and landing on those nerves. The nerves that are damaged, only slightly, but its still damage, are the nerve that's right next to his eye." the nurse pointed to the spot where Johnny was damaged on himself.

"It controls blinking and such, have you noticed how he closes his eyes and scrunches his face up sometimes? That's the blinking that the nerve damaged caused. He only does it, from what we've found, is when he is under high pressure, confused, or concentrating. Otherwise, the blinking isn't that bad. Do you got that?" Mrs. Piper nodded and the male nurse continued.

"The other damage was a nerve that controls his hands. His right hand has a slight shake, he hides it very well, but it becomes noticeable when he's high on emotion, like the ones I listed for his blinking. The pill he's taking for the nerve damages keeps the nerves from getting worse. The other pill, is to help with the shaking in his hand, to keep it to a minimum."

"That's basically it for now, when you come and get him in the morning you'll have to sign an release form and his prescriptions. Any questions?" the nurse looked at the both of them and seeing they both completely understood, he handed a red folder to Mrs. Piper.

"This isn't really anything medical. It's just something the girls and the residents put together for Johnny. A farewell of sorts." Mrs. Piper smiled and took the folder from the nurse.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>The next afternoon, the tall black haired teen known as Johnny Doe, sat in a small white car in the parking lot of a mall. His green eyes stared widely at the enormous building bustling with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. He hadn't even gotten out of the car yet and he was feeling claustrophobic.<p>

Gathering up his courage, he stepped out the car and stood next to his foster mother. Mrs. Piper took his hand as if he was a small child and hurried across the parking lot and into the mall. It was worse then Johnny expected. It wasn't normal people. Not a real mixture of people at all. It was full of teens. Johnny knew that he was a teen also, but he couldn't help but be a bit frightened by some of the teens there. One was staring at him with an absolute death glare - he could feel his blinks already starting. Thankfully, even as if it looked like he himself was incapable, Mrs. Piper was dragging him around by the hold on his hand.

"Lets see… shall we start with formal wear? I think you might like that, you seem like a boy who'd wear a button up shirt." Mrs. Piper gave him a grin, he couldn't help grin back as she dragged him to a store that had mannequins dressed in tuxedos in the window.

"Hello, can I help you an any way?" a man dressed in a tux, with a pin that read 'Michael Roth at your service', said.

"Yes, you can. My son here is looking for some nice tuxedos." Mrs. Piper beat Johnny to the reply.

"Wonderful, do you know you're size?"

"No, we do not know."

"Mrs. Piper-" Johnny started to protest but she shushed him.

"No problem, now if you come with me to the dressing room I'll measure you and bring you some clothes." the salesman smiled friendly, completely ignoring Johnny's protest. He turned and walked to the back, with Mrs. Piper and Johnny following him. Soon, Mrs. Piper and Johnny were out of the shop with a sack of formal wear.

"You didn't need to-"

"I am your guardian and as such I provide food, clothes, and shelter for you. Don't protest." Johnny looked at Mrs. Piper with surprise. A grin formed on his face as he ran to catch up with the elderly woman.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon when Mrs. Piper and Johnny arrived to the small neighborhood where they lived. It was the first time that Johnny saw the house where he would be living in with Mrs. Piper.<p>

It wasn't long until they pulled into a driveway. Johnny stared out his window at the small two story house before him. It was small, but very… quaint.

Johnny stepped out of the car just as Mrs. Piper did. He grabbed arms full of the sacks of clothing that Mrs. Piper had bought him. Seeing so many bags of items for him made him feel like he was taking advantage of Mrs. Piper. He shouldn't make her pay for all that! But she did say that she's suppose to do that right? The whole things made Johnny confused and frustrated with himself.

Mrs. Piper grabbed the single last sack and closed the car door. Johnny followed her into the house,_ his new home_.

His foster mother led him down the hall and up the stairs. The walls were filled with several pictures of the same people. It began with a black and white photo of a couple, whom Johnny presumed was the newlywed couple Mr. and Mrs. Piper. The next ones were family photos mostly, it seemed that the Pipers had only one child, a girl. Whom was married and now lived a few blocks away from there with her family.

Johnny practically ran into the stout Mrs. Piper when she suddenly stopped in front of an open door.

"This is your room now, Johnny." he looked at her and then the room with trepidation.

He was pleasantly surprised. He set the sacks of clothes and items from the mall onto the ground gently. The room, it wasn't pre-decorated, no, all it was was a single bed next to the wall. As well as a dresser, and a closest across the room. He loved it.

Mrs. Piper's voice broke him out of his thoughts, "Decorate it as you will. I know that our Darla loved to decorate her room when she was your age, even though she's a girl and you're a boy, I figure it can't be that muc-"

Johnny cut her off as he engulfed her into a hug.

"Thank you."

For the first time Johnny could remember, he had a real life ahead of him with someone who cared. At that moment, even though they had just met and had so much more to learn about each other, Johnny vowed he would do everything in his power to repay Mrs. Piper for what she did for him.

_A/N: Thank you for all your reviews, faves, and alerts! That means so much to me! I didn't think anyone would actually read this, so thank you for liking it enough to put it on your alerts/faves. I hope you like this chapter, I was going to post a "one year later" chapter right after the prologue, but I decided this would be better - I hope you thought so too! :) _


	3. Chapter 2: Part 1 of 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling. Also, this fic is inspired by "Behind Blue Eyes" by Paffy. **

Chapter Two: Part 1 of 2

_Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London, England._

_July 18th, 1996_

She hadn't left that spot. Not for the last month. The only exception she would leave the little coven she built around herself was to go to the bathroom. Even then, she had to force herself.

He would bring her food, make sure she ate, stayed with her most of the day, read through the pages in the books she finished, to make sure she didn't miss anything. He would, occasionally, try to persuade her to leave that library. To leave the research, saying that no one is benefiting from her just burying herself in mountains of books.

But he was wrong, she thought to herself. If she could just find ONE spell. One spell that would locate him, to make sure he was alright, or even to confirm her worst fears.

That he was dead. That there was no chance of him coming back to her. _Her best friend_. Dead. Not breathing. Gone.

A broken sob escaped her lips. No, he can't be dead! The short boy that was her best friend. The scrawny boy that became her first friend. The boy that was the little brother she always wanted. The boy that she always could protect, even though he refused protection.

No, she refused to believe that he was dead. She would search, always. For the little brother that she had that was no longer in her grasp.

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><p><em>I was in the middle of writing the next chapter but I am feeling horrible for making you guys wait for so long, so here is just a bit of what I've written. I hope it makes up for however long I've been posted. Sorry to make you wait! I hope you enjoy this short little filler, I would love to hear your thoughts! Critique's are always welcome :)<em>


	4. Part 2 of 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling. Also, this fic is inspired by "Behind Blue Eyes" by Paffy. **

_Chapter Two_

_Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, London, England._

_July 18th, 1996_

Fred and George Weasley leaned towards their newest invention, the Extendable Ears. Their ears pressed closely to their product as the listened to the Order meeting on the first floor of Grimmauld.

"Any news Severus?" Professor Dumbledore's words were slightly muffled, but the twins could still hear good enough.

"Its seems, that even Voldemort wonders where the boy is. He questions if you are hiding the boy." Snape's cool drone sounded. "I informed him, that if you are indeed hiding the boy, you have not deemed anyone in the Order fit with that information."

"Terrific."

"We've no news either, Dumbledore."

"Its almost like Harry never existed."

"It's nothing new, why bother?" a voice came from beside the twins, making them jump.

"You are like a cat-"

"dear sister." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, though, they have had no news since the Third Task. What makes you think they'll be news now?"

"Hope." the twins remarked, turning back to their invention to find out that someone had put silencing charms up on the door. Fred sighed, reeling back in the other end of the ear.

"We all could use a bit of that right now." Ron commented softly as he joined them.

"How's Hermione?" Ginny asked, turning to her older brother. He looked incredibly tired for someone his age, Ginny noticed.

"The same. She won't get up from her little area." he replied sadly, watching the twins wrap their product up safely. "She's been pouring over the same books for weeks now. She's just making herself more frustrated."

"Perhaps a prank-"

"might cheer her up." the twins chorused together, mischievous grins forming on their lips.

"Make her more frustrated if you ask me." Ginny remarked sharply . Ron looked at his sister, surprised by the tone of her voice.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Ron, absolutely nothing." Ginny replied in the same tone. The twins and Ron looked at her confused as she turned and marched off.

Just as Ron opened his mouth to ask the twins a question, the door opened to the kitchen. Several Order members left with depressed and gloomy faces. Bubblegum haired auror Tonks looked at the three sadly and shook her head.

No news.

Always no news.

Were they ever going to find Harry?

* * *

><p><em>Outskirts of London, England<em>

_July 21st, 1996_

A gentle pitter patter of rain drops hit the window. A young man stirred in his bed, burying his face deeper into his pillow. The door creaked open and a small woman made her way across the room. Taking a moment to admire how out of the world this young man was, she gently shook his shoulder. It only made him pull his covers over his head.

"Time to get up Johnny. Darla and the kids will be here soon." she spoke gently yet loudly so it would wake him up. The young man shot up out of bed and unceremoniously landed on the floor. Mrs. Piper chuckled. In the last week since she took Johnny in, they had become quite close. She had learned how kind and caring Johnny is, and how he can be quite sarcastic when he is provoked. As well as so many other things.

Johnny scrambled out of the blankets that tangled him on the ground and promptly ran to the bathroom to get ready. Mrs. Piper shook her head amused and headed back to the kitchen where breakfast awaited them. She thought back to a few days ago, when Johnny met Darla.

_At first it was been quite awkward, in Mrs. Piper's view, all three of them had sat there, in the sitting room, staring blankly at each other. Johnny's green eyes examining every little detail on Darla as Darla did the same. Mrs. Piper had made a lame excuse to go and get some tea. As she made her way to the kitchen she heard Darla's voice, she couldn't make out the words but the tone Darla used made it sound like she was asking a question. _

_When Mrs. Piper walked back into the room an exasperated voice said, "Vanilla. Of course it's vanilla. Who would choose anything besides that?" _

_Mrs, Piper watched as her daughter, Darla, retorted, "Vanilla is for people who have no taste. Chocolate is the best thing ever." _

_Johnny's vibrant eyes rolled, he shook his head sadly. "You are sadly misinformed." Darla looked as if she wanted to retort but was too held up trying not to smile by the way Johnny had said his response. _

_Darla ended up cracking a smile and a short laugh, shoving Johnny playfully. He smiled and did the same to her. Yes, Mrs. Piper thought, they were going to get a long quite well._

* * *

><p>"Mummy I'm cold!" five year old Hannah complained to her mother, her lips pouting.<p>

"We're almost there darling." her mother replied, regretting that they chose to walk instead of to drive. Her sons were ahead of her, splashing in the puddles and making each other soak with the rain water. The rain had now just became a light sprinkle, but it was still cold.

"Peter!" the mother rebuked her son as he shoved his brother into the grass, getting his pants muddy. The tall blonde boy looked at his mother, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

"What?" He said as his younger brother picked himself up from the muddy grass. Their mother frowned with disappointment at him. The tall boy rolled his eyes. The shorter boy, the one that had been pushed into the lawn, shoved his brother lightly and started walking ahead of them.

"Mummy!" the little girl's whine tore the mother's eyes away from her sons to her daughter. "It's _cold_."

"I know, but look, Granny's house is just over there." Hannah followed her mother's finger and spotted the familiar white house just a few houses ahead. Little Hannah let go of her mother's hand and started to skip forward, her wellies splashing in the puddles of rain water. The eldest child, Peter, moved to the side to let his sister skip ahead.

"Do you think Granny will have biscuits, Matthew?" Hannah said loudly. The short dirty blonde haired boy shrugged as he kept pace with his younger sister.

"I hope so, I'm _starving_."

"Doubt it, Gran's kid probably ate them all by now." Peter said from behind; Matthew snickered as he heard their mother once again call his brother's name in a disapproving tone.

"What do we call him anyway?" Matthew said as they neared their destination. "Uncle Johnny?" his suggestion was met with laughs from his family.

"No need to make him uncomfortable, he's just Johnny." Their mother said, though a hint of amusement carried with her voice.

"Yeah, but it's a bit odd isn't?" Matthew continued. "He's our age, and Gran is his foster mother." Little Hannah hurried ahead as they stepped foot on their Gran's driveway. Their mother sighed and they walked to the door. In her hurry to get out of the cold, Hannah knocked anxiously on the front door.

"I don't care how odd it is, just be nice." Their mother said as the door opened.

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><p><em>Ta-da! Next chapter, I hope you liked :) <em>_Sorry it took so long, I was hoping to post it sooner but then I just never got around to finishing the chapter... anyway, here's the finished chapter! So, thoughts? What do you think? Reviews are very helpful and really encourage me to write more! Even if its "OMG I like!" or "next chapter please" or something like that, even critique or ideas are 100% welcomed! I want to know what you think! Also, I will be going back to re-write my previous chapters to make it better and the next updates probably won't be regular because I want to make it the best as it can be and to actually have _long_ chapters. I tend to write shorter chapters. :/_

_Before I go, I want to thank spellmugwump97 to giving me a bunch of ideas! THANK YOU!_

_ And thanks for all the reviews! _

_- Me :)_


	5. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling. Also, this fic is inspired by "Behind Blue Eyes" by Paffy.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

* * *

><p><em>Outskirts of London, England<em>

_July 21st, 1996_

"GRANNY!" the young Hannah exclaimed happily, lunging into her Granny's arms. Mrs. Piper chuckled and kissed her granddaughter's forehead.

The mother, Darla, and the boys greeted Mrs. Piper as they stepped foot into the house.

"Is there any biscuits?" Matthew said as he passed his Gran. Mrs. Piper looked at him incredulously.

"It's morning! If you are hungry there is breakfast in the kitchen." Matthew sighed and walked to the kitchen, hoping that "breakfast" wasn't just plain porridge. The sight before him made him stop in his tracks. He had been expecting this, yes, but already? No. Not really. Matthew had been expecting to be introduced later that morning. Not seeing his Gran's, uh, son, right away after coming.

Leaning over the counter in the kitchen was a scrawny guy with black hair all ruffled as if he had just rolled out of bed. It was a bit odd to see this guy, not only eating cereal but in _dress clothes_. The guy (what was his name? Joe? Jake? John? Yep, Johnny. That's it.), Johnny, was wearing black slacks and a button up shirt.

Hannah didn't seem to be so surprised at Johnny's appearance as Matthew was. She went straight to him and started talking animatly. At first Gran's kid was a bit startled but his shock was soon over and he was listening to Hannah's every word.

Which, of course, Hannah loved.

"Daddy says not to tell Mummy though. But you can keep a secret, right?" At her wide smile, Johnny nodded. Completely at a loss of what Hannah had been telling Gran's kid, he shook his head and finally spoke up.

"You're Johnny then?" Gran's kid looked up from Hannah's wide hazel eyes. Johnny scanned Matthew's face and nodded.

"Yep. I'm Johnny."

"The name's Matthew. Gr- er, uh, Francine Piper is my grandmum." Johnny nodded in acknowledgement, most likely he had already figured that out. "Yeah, and this kid here is-"

"Hannah Rose Kettleson!" his sister pronounced clearly and proudly. Johnny smiled at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Hannah, Matthew." Johnny said. Matthew nodded, not quite sure of how to continue the conversation. Hannah gave another brilliant smile at Gran's kid and then went on a scavenger hunt in the fridge and cabinets. Surely Gran had biscuits somewhere!

As little Hannah scavenged for her favorite treat, the two boys stood in awkward silence. Johnny played with his cereal, not wanting to eat in front of the people he just met. It wasn't like he was scared of eating infront of them. It was simply for the reason that Johnny always became more aware of how loud he was chewing in the presence of other human beings.

As for Matthew, he desperately wanted to go and get food from the fridge (which was newly stocked with all of his favorite foods by the looks of it!) but he ended up just swaying on his toes and making odd faces.

"Find the stash yet?" a voice came from the doorway, it was hushed, as if the speaker was trying to be secretive yet still quite loud as Hannah, Matthew, and Johnny (whom were all on different parts of the fairly good sized kitchen) look up at the noise.

Peter looked expectantly for an answer. Johnny put up his hands in a "_I have no clue what you are talking about_" way. Peter sent a scowled at him and shushed him (in a friendly way of course) as he waited for Hannah's answer.

"I don't think Gran has any." she said sadly, her round face scrunched up in confusion.

"Nonsense. She always has some on hand. You know how she gets about her midnight snacks." Peter moved towards his sister, shoving his older brother out of his way. Matthew sent a slight scowl his way but got out of his brother's path and headed for the fridge.

Peter stood next to Hannah (who was at this point had gotten onto the counter and was digging through the highest cabinets) and searched in the cabinet next to her. Johnny watched, a bit amused, as the siblings searched for the biscuits (or well, in Matthew's case, trying to open the new gallon of orange juice).

This went on for several moments. Until, Peter (assuming that's his name of course, Johnny had been listening to Darla's and Mrs. Piper's stories of them for the past week or so) spun around pointed his finger at him.

"You! Where'd Gran put the biscuits? You got to know, you were there when she made more, weren't you?" Peter squinted, half accusing Johnny and half questioning him.

"If she has some, they would be in her bedroom. I can't have any with my meds or something like that." Johnny shrugged. Peter and Hannah simuntaneously frowned. Gran's room was off limits. That was her sanctuary and no one messes with her sanctuary.

Finally, Peter groaned in defeat. Gran had made sure they couldn't have any biscuits. Hannah slid off the counter and headed over to her eldest brother. Matthew was at the kitchen table and pouring a few bowls of cereal for himself and his siblings.

"G'morning Johnny!" a voice greeted quite happily from the kitchen doorway. Johnny turned from away from his new cousins (they were cousins right? He was the kid of their Grandmum. But wouldn't that make him their Uncle? Wow, was this confusing or what?!) and looked to see a smiling Darla.  
>Johnny grinned at her and greeted her with a "Morning."<br>"Well, kiddos, I have to go and get some errands done. You'll be good for your Gran?"

"When are we not?" Peter said with a smirk. His mother shot him a glare (only making Peter's smirk grow wider).

"Alrighty then. I'll be going. See ya kids." Darla waved at all of them and Johnny sent her a small wave and smile as she turned and left. Mrs. Piper walked after her, seeing her out.

Johnny felt suddenly awkward as he was left with all three of Darla's kids stared him. They seemed friendly enough... but, what on earth were they suppose to do for the hours that Darla was gone?

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><p><strong>AN:**_ Yeah. This is a stupidly short and "eh" chapter, if I do say so myself. Please accept my apologizes for taking so long to update - and updating with such a sucky chapter too. _

_Since it took so long to write this,** I'm officially putting this fic, Gone, on hiatus**. Even though I'm putting it on hiatus I have every intention to finishing it! I have loads of ideas in my head, and reader's requests to write still. Speaking of which, I'm still open to taking in your ideas! If you want to see something happen in this fic, just let me know and it might happen! :) _

_So, yes. There might not be an update on this fic for awhile. If you want more of my writing (which I highly doubt it, but you never know) I'm writing a Harry Potter and Hunger Games Crossover... that will be interesting :) _


	6. Update

Hello! Sorry for making this a chapter and making you think this was a new chapter. I didn't ever want to make an author's note like this but, oh well. ANYWAY. To the point:

I've decided to rewrite Gone. The first chapter of it will be posted tomorrow or Thursday. It will be posted under the same title.

The rewrite is a bit different but hopefully loads better! I hope to see you read/review/alert/fave the new version! :)

+page-394-always1


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